Discovery BoxIsaiah 50:11 
Context50:11 Look, all of you who start a fire
and who equip yourselves with 1 flaming arrows, 2
walk 3 in the light 4 of the fire you started
and among the flaming arrows you ignited! 5
This is what you will receive from me: 6
you will lie down in a place of pain. 7
Isaiah 61:3
Context61:3 to strengthen those who mourn in Zion,
by giving them a turban, instead of ashes,
oil symbolizing joy, 8 instead of mourning,
a garment symbolizing praise, 9 instead of discouragement. 10
They will be called oaks of righteousness, 11
trees planted by the Lord to reveal his splendor. 12
1 tc Several more recent commentators have proposed an emendation of מְאַזְּרֵי (mÿ’azzÿre, “who put on”) to מְאִירִי (mÿ’iri, “who light”). However, both Qumran scrolls of Isaiah and the Vulgate support the MT reading (cf. NIV, ESV).
2 tn On the meaning of זִיקוֹת (ziqot, “flaming arrows”), see HALOT 268 s.v. זִיקוֹת.
3 tn The imperative is probably rhetorical and has a predictive force.
4 tn Or perhaps, “flame” (so ASV).
5 sn Perhaps the servant here speaks to his enemies and warns them that they will self-destruct.
6 tn Heb “from my hand” (so NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV).
7 sn The imagery may be that of a person who becomes ill and is forced to lie down in pain on a sickbed. Some see this as an allusion to a fiery place of damnation because of the imagery employed earlier in the verse.
8 tn Heb “oil of joy” (KJV, ASV); NASB, NIV, NRSV “the oil of gladness.”
9 tn Heb “garment of praise.”
10 tn Heb “a faint spirit” (so NRSV); KJV, ASV “the spirit of heaviness”; NASB “a spirit of fainting.”
11 tn Rather than referring to the character of the people, צֶדֶק (tsedeq) may carry the nuance “vindication” here, suggesting that God’s restored people are a testimony to his justice. See v. 2, which alludes to the fact that God will take vengeance against the enemies of his people. Cf. NAB “oaks of justice.”
12 tn Heb “a planting of the Lord to reveal splendor.”
